Media Release:

Big Island police arrested a 32-year-old Hilo man for first-degree negligent injury Sunday (August 15) immediately following a major traffic collision at the intersection of Highway 11 and Mamaki Street in Hilo.

Alexander Borrero III was arrested at the scene of the 3 p.m. collision after witnesses informed investigators that the Honda sedan he was driving on Mamaki Street crossed onto Highway 11 at a high rate of speed in front of a 1990 Toyota Camry, which was traveling in a Volcano-bound lane and hit the Honda. The force of the collision caused the Honda to break in two.

The driver and sole occupant of the Honda, which was reported as stolen, became pinned under the front half of the car. Police officers extricated him from the rubble.

Medics took the driver of the Camry, a 61-year-old Hilo man, his passenger, a 86-year-old Hilo woman, and Borrero to Hilo Medical Center. The driver of the Camry was treated and released for his injuries. His passenger remains at the hospital in stable condition. Borrero is confined to the hospital in serious condition.

Earlier in the day, at approximately 1:45 p.m., police had been investigating two reported sightings of a stolen truck in the Puna area when they first made contact with Borrero. Based on descriptions from witnesses, a man last seen fleeing on foot from the stolen truck was suspected of being inside a Honda parked on the side of Paradise Drive in Hawaiian Paradise Park.

During this contact, the driver of the Honda, in an apparent effort to flee, reversed toward the officer’s vehicle at a high rate of speed, nearly running over him as he stood next to a marked police car. The officer was brushed by the vehicle when his equipment became caught on the car and was dragged a short distance before he was able to free himself. The officer did not require any immediate medical attention.

Officers’ efforts to stop the Honda were quickly terminated when pursuing officers determined that it would be detrimental to the public to continue.

At approximately 2:30 p.m., police began receiving reports of a car driving recklessly in Mountain View. Responding officers located the vehicle near Aloha Estates and attempted to stop it but were unsuccessful, as it sped away. Officers again terminated the pursuit in the Mountain View area and the vehicle continued in the Kea’au direction.

Police elected to follow the car at a distance to monitor its location. Officers looking for the vehicle on Mamaki Street observed the Honda traveling East on Mamaki Street at a high rate of speed as officers headed in the opposite direction. A short time after the Honda passed the officers, it collided with the Camry at Highway 11.

Borrero remains in police custody at Hilo Medical Center while detectives with the Criminal Investigations Section continue their investigation. Police initiated additional criminal cases in connection with this series of events, including a first-degree attempted murder case for the act of backing the Honda into the police officer.

Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading to it call Acting Lieutenant Reed Mahuna at 961-2252.Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.